The VERY Big, Bad Universe
by DiamondbackGunner
Summary: After a horrific first contact, the Systems Alliance reels from the shock that not only is Humankind not alone in this unforgiving galaxy, it is the smallest by far. With Humanity having temporarily joined the Citadel Council Accord for protection, Garrus and Shepard must deal with the myriad of problems that come with the integration of a species that is simply, well, less.
1. Chapter 0 - Only Human

_**The VERY Big, Bad Universe**_

 _When Human explorers stumble into the path of a large Terminus pirate fleet, Shanxi burns in nuclear fire in what becomes known as the 'First Contact Raid' or the 'Qingming Genocide'._

 _The Human Systems Alliance reels from the shock that not only is Humankind not alone in this unforgiving galaxy, it is the smallest by far._

 _Now, having temporarily joined the Citadel Council Accord for protection, the Alliance and Council perform a balancing act between its members, as integration into the galactic community is fraught with scandals and perils for the bite sized Human race._

 _(I do not own mass effect, nor any of its characters, places, locations etc.)_

 _Just a warning note: mentions of death and torture, amongst other adult themes._

 _Much thanks to Hetzer for allowing me to uses his ideas a long time ago - if you're reading, finish your damn story!_

* * *

 _"At first, I wanted to say 'never again.' It was hell. So much death... Never again should anyone experience what we went through. But now? Again. Come back. This time we are ready, And we have a score to settle."_  
 **Unknown Shanxi survivor**

* * *

Prologue

 **"Only Human"**

Shepard cursed violently as what felt like a sledgehammer skimmed the top of her helmet, almost giving her whiplash from the force. She ducked as further alien rounds raked the trench where her head had been moments ago. Her hand went to the mark and came back flecked with blood and strands of her own red hair. There was not a great deal of either however, so she filed it away as a problem for later.

Keeping her head down she edged down trench to one of the rapidly set up bunkers that had until recently been pouring out auto-cannon fire at the xenos. They needed it back online - auto-cannon rounds were one of the few weapons the Alliance forces had that could actually suppress the alien bastards. Stepping gingerly over a corpse missing most of it's upper torso, she risked a glance over towards the alien forces.

Their size made advancing through the Láng Forest a treat for the Human soldiers. Aliens could only take cover behind the redwood style trees of Shanxi whilst Human forces could burrow in and around the flora of the world. The aliens might have bombed the cities, but the Humans still owned the wilds.

Through the haze of smoke Shepard could see figures, trees bulging at the bottom where alien soldiers were hiding. Blue flashes signified where severalaliens were trying to lay down suppressing fire. For their size, or rather because of it, they could close the distance quickly given a chance.

Ducking down once more, she passed several soldiers unloading on the invaders using old projectile weaponry found in the stores of the Alliance depots. The sand grain sized 'bullet' of a Human sized eezo rifle would simply ping off an alien's armour, unless it was an anti-material weapon at least, but the piercing power of a bullet simply went through alien armour like paper.

It was the only thing giving the Human forces a fighting chance.

In the beginning, the problem was that there was only enough rifles to equip half the regiment at full strength, but the last four days of almost non stop fighting had solved that problem for them. Now there were more rifles than soldiers to wield them.

She entered the bunker and took everything in at a glance. Both the gunner and loader lay dead from a lucky round that had gone through both the gunner and into the loader behind him. It was clear he had been hit as he went to get the coolant for the gun that was behind the gunner. Shoving the gunner's corpse out of the way unceremoniously, she grabbed the handle of the weapon, inspecting the barrel briefly for signs of overheating. Finding none, she aimed down the sights to a figure in the fog. She opened fire, not really seeing what the alien looked like or having checked for identification. Thankfully, being taller than some buildings it was hard to confuse it for a Human she thought with a feral grin.

The emplaced weapon fired in its staccato rhythm, tracer fire showing her aiming slightly ahead 2 alien. She corrected her aim and the shots almost bisected the moving figure. The heavy rounds first halted the alien, then kept it upright with the sheer kinetic force of each round. Once it was clear the figure was quite dead, she switched to fire off a few rounds at another figure peering around one of the giant trees, forcing it to duck back into cover.

A flare shot out from behind the Alliance trench towards the alien lines, lighting up several figures previously hiding within the fog of war. Avolley of fire from the Human trenches stopped the alien advance dead in its tracks, slaughtering many.

Shepard kept up the fire, her exhausted state had her at first firing madly at the plethora of targets suddenly available to her, before remembering not to chase 2 hares. Following her training, she was much more cautious about her fire, prioritising targets and making sure one was dead or suppressed before moving on.

For what seemed like forever she kept up the fire until the barrel of the emplaced weapon burned white hot. Stopping only because she had to, she noted a calm had settled on the field.

She turned from the gun to root around for any coolant that the bunker had left. Though the gun itself would de-heat, she'd feel much more comfortable having the ability to rapidly cool it down when the aliens worked up the courage to come at them again.

She raised her pistol when a form appeared in the doorway. Cursing her nerves jumping at a Human she glanced at the figure that had intruded in her bunker. An Alliance solider entered the in the bunker and after a prolonged glance at the fallen gunner, he noticed Shepard at last.

"What are you still doing here?!" The man shouted as he ripped the dog-tags from the gunner and made lent over to get the loader's.

"Shooting aliens, what about you?" She said snarled.

"Your comms broken or something?" He demanded. Her heart skipped a beat as she realised why she hadn't heard anything over the sound of explosions and gunfire for the last few minutes. She took her helmet off and turned it round, seeing the topmost part of it, which just so happened to contain her comms, sheared off. It must have gotten clipped by that shot on her way to the bunker. She belatedly realised that she probably had a concussion as well.

"Took a hit but I'm still alive so I didn't think much about it." She said.

The man grabbed her arm and tried to pull her out. She dropped her helmet and ripped her arm back in surprise, inwardly noting how sluggish she was now that she knew she had been wounded. He turned back to her and shouted, motioning to follow him all the while.

"The AA in this sector is gone, aliens took it out from orbit! Drop-ships are landing behind us and the whole line has collapsed! Command is calling a 'Sore Looser'!" The soldier activated his omni-tool and Shepard heard the voice of General Williams on the line.

"To everyone that can hear this, if you haven't already, you need to get to the last resort bunkers immediately! The last elements of the 88th have been wiped out and New Changzhi has been lost. There is no more significant resistance left, any remaining Alliance forces are about to be cut off and surrounded. I am calling 'Sore Looser'! This is it people! We are flipping the table and burning the house down!"

Chills ran down Shepard spine as she understood.

'Sore Looser' was a last resort measure that involved detonating every single piece of nuclear ordinance in every major settlement on the planet.

In case of an extra-terrestrial invasion of genocidal intent, with no hope of containing it with forces already on planet and with no forces in space contesting orbital supremacy the highest ranking military official was ordered to deny any possible extra-terrestrial invaders from recovering assets that could be used against the rest of Humanity.

In the case of an extra-terrestrial invasion of this hostility the population was considered assets as well. It was as much a statement that Humanity would fight for every last inch, as it was the ultimate in scorched earth tactics.

Unbidden memories surfaced of when her platoon had staged a rescue of one of the camps they were holding captured Humans in. In the earliest stages of the morning of the third night, they had crept up on and then stormed a camp with a force and fury that the trench raiders of old would have been proud of. The soldiers had managed to save a great many people destined for the unseen horrors of wherever the aliens were planning to take them.

She specifically remembered trying to hustle a man out of the camp when he broke for the wall overlooking the courtyard. It had been covered in shop mannequins that had been nailed to the wall. An effort to scare the prisoners and keep them in line she had thought at the time.

When she caught up to him the man was sobbing hysterically as he clutched fitfully at the nightdress of a mannequin held some 6 foot off the ground. This was the first time any of the soldiers had the liberty to take a good long look at the gruesome display. Shepard had voided her stomach when she realised that not every figure stuck to the wall was made of plastic.

Nor were all of them dead when before they were put there.

At least the couple had had a chance to say goodbye.

'Yes.' Shepard thought, 'Sore Looser' was a mercy...

She followed the man out of the bunker to see much of the trench empty and many of the Alliance soldiers falling back through the Láng Forest. In a 'Sore Looser' situation, it could be anywhere from seconds to minutes until detonation to prevent the aliens from escaping or getting to cover. In this situation, it was every man for himself. Shepard took off running with them, sprinting out of the trench moving towards bunker 19, which they had been defending.

She had made it about fifty metres when rounds started churning up the earth around them. Several soldiers fell down, either dropping from training or from alien rounds as they continued to crawl towards the bunker. The aliens had realised that the Human trenches had fallen silent and upon inspection had seen the retreating Humans. Several of the Alliance soldiers who still held their guns opened fire on the advancing xenos, but caught out of cover and with the momentum on the alien's side they were as much use as a fly swatter to stop a train.

The invaders had the upper hand. Shepard could see them using fire and movement to quickly gain on the retreating forces. Unless something could be done, the Human troops would be slaughtered before they ever made it to the bunkers. Shepard stood up, cursing her stupidity and held her hands out and summoned a biotic barrier. It didn't need to hold for long, it just needed to be a target. As soon as it was up, rounds hammered into it with a fury.

Shepard was a fiercely strong biotic with experimental L2 implants, it helped that she was also swimming in adrenaline and combat stims. The barrier held up to the onslaught, allowing most of the Humans to continue their retreat. Several however stayed, using Shepard's distraction to pour retaliatory fire back onto the aliens once more.

One such beast went down immediately with a lucky shot to one of its many eyes, whilst another dropped to the floor rolling around and screaming as he was hosed in bullets too small to kill him outright. Step by step, Shepard made her way back through the path. Sod exploded around her from near misses, but she held. A cannonball sized object lept out of the fog, landing in front of her, smashing into her barrier like a football. As it ricocheted up to head height, Shepard could see the object was an alien grenade.

On instinct and ignoring all her training, Shepard broke her barrier and biotically punched it back towards the alien lines. It sailed for three seconds before exploding violently, shredding trees and aliens alike before they could react. This newest lull in fire from the alien lines gave Shepard an opportunity to run.

Turning around, she once again began sprinting towards bunker 19. The soldiers who'd stayed with her ran as well. To her right, a soldier tripped and fell as he tried running. Giving him a biotic push, he propelled forwards upright and found his feet, sprinting ahead.

The bunker door was finally in sight, sandbags surrounded a concrete dome that led to safety. Several soldiers guarded the entrance, waving and shouting encouragement to those still on their way. By the bunker an air raid siren rang out, warning all of the impending nuclear detonations. Putting on one final burst of speed Shepard propelled herself to the bunker in question. The soldiers guarding the bunker ducked into cover, waving for the runners to do the same and letting Shepard realise that the aliens were about to fire again.

She turned and faced the aliens once more only to fall on her backside as a Turian descended from the skies, a jet-pack howling as it slowed her decent enough to survive the landing. A leg as tall as Shepard hit the ground mere feet from her as the titanic Turian turned her sub-machine gun to hose down several more of the retreating Humans. Before she fired however she noticed Shepard below her, staring up in fear and awe.

Human eyes met a blank Turian helmet.

A mortal met a god.

The Turian seemed to loom ever higher, lowering her gun and reaching for Shepard, the 3 fingered hand aiming for her torso. She was but a child compared to the monster above. Shepard brought her legs over her head and rolled backwards to her feet, causing the Turian to pause. The hand that had once reached out turned to a fist, forgetting the gun it held in it's off hand. The fist raised slightly, ready to be brought down in a hammer blow that would crush her like a gnat.

Shepard steadied herself and realised in a split second her gun was out of reach. Looking up, she reacted with primal instincts, flight was no longer an option, so she had to fight with as much speed and aggression as she could muster, and Shepard could muster a lot of aggression.

Thanking whatever had made her choose close combat training, she charged her biotics once more. Focusing on a point just above the Turian's chest and just below her visor, she used a biotic charge.

Propelling herself at speeds too fast for the eye to follow, she drove her fist into the Turian's neck. A surprised grunt that was cut sickeningly short by a snapping sound that came from above the human bullet as a whole 13 feet of Turian tipped backwards as if it had been K.O'd by a professional boxer.

Laying on an armoured torso, Shepard tried not to move as the body fell to the floor from the momentum of her charge. As it hit the floor, she gingerly crawled off of the alien, looking back and praying it was dead. From the lack of movement, her crazy plan had worked.

Exhaustion washed over her as her body ungently reminded her of the fatigue that using her biotics to this extent would cause. At the same time laughter began to bubble in her chest once more until she heard an vicious roar, reminding her in no uncertain terms the rest of the former Turian's friends were still there. She turned to face them as she saw 3 more large figures level guns at her.

Projecting yet another barrier and ignoring the horrific burning from her implants, once more rounds hammered into it mercilessly. Sensing that their prey was escaping, Shepard saw some of the aliens sprinting pell-mell towards the bunker. She ran backwards, face towards the aliens, still holding the barrier up to her own amazement, hoping that she wasn't about to slip and fall backwards.

She could hear the guards shouting now. "Come on! You're the last one! Hurry up!" They yelled, a chorus of voices guiding her to the bunker door.

She was seconds away from safety when the 'Pyrrhus,' Class nuclear bomb detonated in New Datong, 15 miles away from their position.

At 125 megatons it was 25 more than the full power of the Tsar Bomba, the most powerful nuclear weapon created up until the 2149, which had only been tested at half power on Earth for safety reasons. At 2149, the Pyrrhus had been created for the exact purpose of killing worlds.

21 of them detonated on Shanxi.

10 times, 50 times,100 times brighter than looking directly at the sun, it felt as if someone had put cigarettes out on her eyeballs. Helmet-less, she had no protection from the light that came from the nuclear fireball, burning her retinas. Piercing through the fog and smoke of the battle and above the 30 foot trees of the Láng Forest as 'Sore Looser' went into effect. Reflex had her drop her barrier and cover her eyes as she covered them fruitlessly. The fire from the alien side stopped, presumably as they turned to see the blast that had come from miles behind their lines.

A hand gripped onto Shepard's hard-suit and pulled her backwards like an elastic band, yanking her into the bunker. A door slammed and the outside world went quiet, followed quickly by the echos of Human voices and boots running.

Shepard was dragged down the steps deep into the bunker by the guards who had stayed behind. She couldn't see anything, not even black or white in any way she could explain. She could hear though, she realised.

Boots running, distant voices, a closer voice as one of the soldiers dragging her whispered soothing words, the terrifying sounds of a storm raged outside as the 'Pyrrhus' shock-wave hit the bunker, throwing fire, debris, trees, alien and human bodies at the reinforced dome.

Her own screaming.

Another door slammed shut and the footsteps started making a different sound as they ran on a different surface to concrete. She was stopped and a click in the darkness sounded. She focused on the heavy breathing of the soldiers around her as she tried to control her own voice. Clenching her teeth and breathing through them roughly instead of screaming, she was able to stand on her own at last, supported by the soldiers around her. Though she could stand at last, she couldn't stop putting pressure her eyes even though she knew it wouldn't help.

"Morphine! Does anyone have any morphine for Christ's sake?!" A voice to her left demanded. The sound of people rooting around in pockets filled the silence for a second before an 'ah' sounded somewhere in front of her.

"Sergeant, over here." The voice sounded. A few more seconds passed until what she assumed was the Sergeant who was propping her up began unstrapping her left spaulder.

Still breathing heavily, she felt a sharp object pierce her arm. Cold flooded her body from that area and numbness followed, though her eyes still seemed to smoulder. Whilst waiting for the morphine to take full effect, the elevator hit the bottom of the bunker. Shepard was led forwards once more, getting closer to a loud bubble of voices coming from ahead. She was stopped for a moment and shifted right slightly, guided through what was probably a door.

A babble of voices surrounded her, evacuated civilians she guessed. She never thought the sound of a crying baby would sound so sweet, it meant life. They were safe, for now, from bombs and aliens.

"We're it." The Sergeant mumbled to someone ahead. Shepard was then moved in another direction. Behind her, an authorative voice began giving orders.

"Seal the bunker! That's it. We're on lock-down."

Cries and shouts of vain hope to hold it open for family members who would never arrive went unnoticed by the soldiers carrying out the orders. A loud 'clang' followed by a hissing sound signified the bunker's closure - only to be opened if Alliance forces arrived and gave the all clear signal.

The cries and moans ceased being sounds of grief and became sounds of pain as she entered what she guessed was an infirmary. The Sergeant sat her down onto what she guessed was a bed and found a doctor.

"Flashblindness." She heard him murmur. The doctor hummed and gently moved away her hands from their rubbing. She tried resisting on instinct at first, but the Sergeant joined in. With his superior strength and with quiet words of encouragement she kept her hands down and allowed the doctor to perform his charge.

She felt him touch the area around her eye, doing something. A click came just from above, there was a few moments of nothing before he moved to the other eye. He was shining a torch in her eye, to see how bad the damage she knew. The fact that nothing changed visually was not an encouraging sign. Soon, something else pricked her arm. Between the adrenaline wearing off and the fatigue of using biotics and fighting the invaders, she barely needed the sedative to fall into sleep.

Above the safety of the bunker, of the 7 million people that had once inhabited Shanxi, 1 million people would perish in the immediate nuclear blasts. Another 3.2 million would die from radiation, debris and the other assorted dangers that such weapons created. Between 300,000 to 900,000 had been stolen into the void of space, taken by the aliens that had invaded. A mere 150,000 had made it to safety. The fate of the rest of Shanxi's residents would never be discovered.

A mere week later, a Turian patrol fleet would discover a war-fleet orbiting a smoking, burned world it. The 2 fleets would both be ready to go to war over their respective fears. One of yet more alien invaders, the other of an unknown terror.

A single Turian would disobey her orders, risking a court martial and an execution in an attempt to bring about peace. Against all odds, she would succeed.

Naming the treaty after the 2 brave soldiers that risked death for peace, the Hackett-Vakarian Concordant was signed. It would bring Humanity - at least temporarily - into the galactic fold, opening up a new universe of opportunities for the human race.

And the galaxy would never be the same again.


	2. Chapter 1 - An offer you can't refuse

_**The VERY Big, Bad Universe**_

 _When Human explorers stumble into the path of a large Terminus pirate fleet, Shanxi burns first in nuclear fire in what becomes known as the 'First Contact Raid' or the 'Qingming Genocide'._

 _The Human Systems Alliance reels from the shock that not only is Humankind not alone in this unforgiving galaxy, it is the smallest by far._

 _Now, having joined the Citadel Council Accord for protection, the Alliance and Council perform a balancing act between its members, as integration into the galactic community is fraught with scandals and perils for the bite sized Human race._

 _(I do not own mass effect, nor any of its characters, places, locations etc.)_

 _A/N/_

 _I had planned to update this fairly regularly but just about the day after the first chapter, I got made redundant from my job, meaning all my free time has now gone into finding work. If anyone cares, that means this'll be sporadic at best. That's life I guess._

* * *

 _"The facts lead me to believe that the Human race was in danger; that our worst fears had been realised._

 _An Alien race had decedent upon a powerless civilian populace, engaging in such wanton cruelty and depravity, a veritable genocide the likes of which had only been seen in our darkest hours._

 _You didn't see what they were doing in those camps! What they were doing to people with no chance of fighting back!_

 _The only course left to me was to enact the 'Sore Looser' protocol._

 _Now they're gone..._

 _I should have done it sooner. They would have thanked me by God..._

 _Every man, every woman._

 _Every child..."_

 **'General Williams at his war-crimes trial for enacting the 'Sore Looser Protocol': the complete nuclear annihilation of a world in case of first contact bent upon Human extermination.'**

 **'(See First Contact Raid and Sore Looser Protocol)'**

 **'Though his actions were deemed "Justifiable" by the court, he was honourably discharged and has retired in seclusion on Mindor.'**

* * *

Chapter 1

 **"An offer you can't refuse..."**

Garrus liked to think he was good at what he did.

He liked C-Sec. There were good people in it.

It was a worthy cause, even if it was difficult at times. Maintaining peace on what was essentially the most important area of the galaxy, with millions of sentients with different and often opposing cultures was never easy, but he had the training for it.

Being a soldier? The Hierarchy had trained him for that.

Being a C-Sec officer? Citadel Security had trained him for that.

Being good at his job? His mentor Lynuss had trained him for that.

Dealing with an overly affectionate, hammered, semi-naked Krogan on the presidium?

There was no training for that.

Lynuss snickered behind him, failing miserably to keep herself quiet while the Krogan female fawned drunkingly on Garrus as he half helped, half carried her to the pair's hovervan, away from Matriarch Mari Ji'kay's 'quiet party'.

"Just some old friends I knew from my Maiden days." Mar Ji'kay had explained, having the decency to look very embarrassed to C-Sec officers interviewing her. "We didn't plan to go skinny dipping in the presidium lake, it just sort of happened."

The other squad had taken one look at the group and the pulled seniority, taking in the Asari Matriarchs.

"Three powerful Asari biotics, against one Krogan female? We're doing you a favour." Severus had told them with a remarkable straight face, as his partner Cato had laughed heartily behind him. Lynuss had then pulled seniority on Garrus, having him take the Krogan to the van while she spent 10 minutes fishing out the Krogan's clothing. It would have only taken 1, but she enjoyed seeing Garrus get fawned over.

"I like Turians." The Krogan slurred, as she stumbled forwards, practically on top of Garrus. "Always so uptight! But find the right places to tweak and you can make em' roll over like a varren pup!" She yelled drunkenly.

"Ma'am, please, just do as I say and we can get this over with nice and quickly." Garrus pleaded.

"I'll do whatever you say officer... Just so long as it's not quick." She purred into Garrus' ear canal. Lynuss had given up the small measure of subtly she had remaining and was laughing loudly at the pair as Garrus attempted fruitlessly to heave the Krogan towards their van. Having had her fun, Lynuss finally helped Garrus heave the Krogan female into the van as she babbled incoherently. She went quietly, relatively, sprawling out on the floor of the van. Garrus sat himself in the passenger seat of the van as Lynuss started it up and began the short drive to nearest C-Sec station. Rotating his arm to work out the kink in the shoulder socket that came with propping up a 400 pound Krogan female, Garrus relaxed into the chair, relieved that his shift was nearly over.

"I think you two make a wonderful pair." Lynuss said, getting into the driver's seat.

"Funny." He muttered to her snickering.

The presidium was beginning to brighten as the holographic sky that served the day and night cycle for the Citadel turned towards morning. In an hour or so the denizens inhabiting the colossal station would begin their various morning rituals and then go about their day. Hopefully clueless as to the adventures of the ill-fated party of Mari Ji'kay.

Lynuss disabled the 'sky' view on the viewscreens, ridding the screen of the holographic sky - at least from their own van's perspective - to see the inside of the Citadel's arms. Civilian traffic ran in orderly lines from arm to arm, into and from the Serpent Nebula. Skycar shoals flitted in between these lines as their advanced VI's guided them safely from destination to destination. Inter-spaced between these lines were the no-fly zones and the flag-waving patrols of the Citadel Fleet. The myriad coalition of void vessels tasked with defending the Citadel swarmed closer to the Citadel than usual, it was not often that those vessels came inside the Citadel's arms. The reason for this shift in behaviour came in the form of a fleet of new vessels who's designs and inhabitants - until last week - were previously unknown to the galaxy at large.

One of the fleets of the newly discovered Human Systems Alliance rested in the arms of the Citadel, a small, but no less deadly armada that had the Citadel Fleet on high alert, like a varren in the klixen's nest.

After the scare that had occurred when the 217th Patrol flotilla had found the Human vessels conducting search and rescue in their Shanxi system beyond the newly activated Border Relay #314, Humanity had been dominating the headlines of Citadel space for a while. Their size notwithstanding, the Human race was as dangerous as they come.

Part of what had the news all aflutter was that their fleet numbers alone could match the Salarian's in all but dreadnoughts, even then it was almost assured that the Humans would win a 1 on 1 void war.

The laws of element zero were constant: vessels could only be certain sizes and dreadnoughts were as big as they came. Human bodies were less than half as small as the average Turian, this meant that their vessels had more than twice the room for shields, armaments and armour than the rest of the galaxy's void vessels. With the exception of dreadnoughts, Human vessels virtually outmatch every opponent in the corresponding class in all areas save for technology and engines. Human dreadnoughts still had a great deal more armour and broadside cannons, but their main gun would be roughly the same size as their Citadel counterpart and less technologically powerful.

Thankfully, the Council had convinced them to join the Citadel Accord - at least temporarily. To think that the Citadel and Humans had almost had a war... His sister would never let him live that down.

Still, between their void navy and the fact that they blew up one of their own planets with 6 million of their own people on it, the other races of the galaxy all wanted the Humans pacified one way or another, lest the galaxy suffer another Krogan rebellions.

Reminding himself of Krogan, Garrus brought up his omnitool to look through the various documents that he would fill out in regards to an arrest. A priority message icon flashed on his omnitool before he could search. Surprised, Garrus opened it only to find out that it was from Commander Ferus, head of C-Sec on the Presidium, detailing that he should make his way to Ferus' offices as soon as possible.

Lynuss glanced towards Garrus, suspicious of the male and what he had read that had gotten him grinning so.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Orders. I've got to see Ferus when we land."

"And why is that a good thing?"

Garrus said nothing, though he lay back, got comfortable and relaxed for the remaining journey, much to Lynuss's growing concern. 'As soon as possible' meant he wouldn't have to book the Krogan.

That would be all Lynuss's job.

When the pair arrived at C-Sec Presidium, Garrus waved to the now swearing Lynuss as the smaller female struggled with the amorous Krogan who had revealed herself to be bisexual and just as enamoured with Lynuss as she had been with Garrus.

Garrus made his way through the station dodging the few officers, civilians and detainees that were around at this much too early hour. Coming to the Commander's office, he knocked on the door and entered when he heard the order shouted at him through the door.

Commander Ferus stood with a pair of Turian C-Sec personnel and an Asari in custom gear. One of the Turians was unknown to him, but the other Turian was non other than Executor Pallin. The Asari was different, the only people able to be this heavily armed with non-standard issue equipment in the middle of C-Sec Presidium would probably be a SPECTRE. He wondered briefly why she was here before he noticed the other figures in the room.

Several armed and armoured mammalian creatures noticed his entry, ballistic rifles held at ease and without hostile intent. Almost all of them wore face-covering helmets, though the leader of the pack of Humans had her own on display. The Human ambassador they were escorting was attired in a dark blue version of what Garrus assumed was formal wear. The Humans collectively seemed to measure around 6 feet on average, standing at just shy of chest height to a Volus and around waist height on Garrus's 12 and a half.

"Officer Vakarian, may I present Ambassador Anita Doyle, of the Human Systems' Alliance." Executor Pallin motioned towards the Human. Garrus was thrown off balance when he realised he had no idea about Human greetings or customs. He fell back on ingrained Hierarchy training and saluted to the woman.

"Ambassador." Garrus said.

"Officer Vakarian, it's a pleasure to meet you." Ambassador Doyle smiled pleasantly. Though she was an alien, and a unique one at that, she had a disarming presence about her. It was easy to see why the Human Systems Alliance had picked her for the job.

"The Ambassador and her subordinates have concluded their negotiations with their Citadel counterparts. The Systems Alliance will be entering a trial period of admittance into associate status with the Citadel Council Accord within the week." Pallin announced.

Garrus shifted slightly, uneasy. He was pleased of course with the result, but this meeting seemed to be way above his pay.

"With the fullmost respect Ambassador, and you Executor, could you paint yourselves?" He asked the two.

Doyle faltered at the unknown Turian idiom, looking to Pallin to explain.

"It means to put your clan markings on; to be forthright and honest. He wants to know why he's here." Doyle gave an 'ah' in acknowledgement and continued.

"With the signing, Humans will be allowed to wonder freely, as with every associate species. Most importantly however, Human vessels will be stationed throughout Citadel space, aiding patrols and targeting pirates and the like. Their goal will be supporting Turian and other Citadel ships in keeping Citadel space secure."

This caught Garrus by surprise. The news had labelled Humans as isolationist, xenophobic and warlike. For them to be so willing to allow their citizens to journey freely through Citadel space and then lend more than the amount of their void vessels to the Citadel than the Council asked for was unheard of of a new species - even the friendlier ones.

"That's very generous of the Alliance." Garrus acknowledged.

Doyle nodded diplomatically in response. "A necessary compromise, the Alliance has 1 dreadnought too many under the Treaty of Farixen. Alone, it wouldn't be too too much of a problem, but we've also began work on another after the attack on Shanxi. The Systems Alliance is unwilling to scrap it, or the other fleet expansions due to costs and the uncertainty of the future." She explained.

"But that still doesn't explain why you need me." Garrus reminded them.

"Indeed so, may I present Commander Shepard of the Alliance Navy." Doyle motioned to the lead of her escort, who stepped forwards allowing Garrus to get a better look.

Her head hair was red-brown and bunched up in some sort of ball, a slender face and high cheekbones gave birth to bright glowing orange eyes that must have been cybernetics. These glowing eyes watched him unnervingly like a predator.

They were sizing him up properly now, her face was carefully neutral as far as Garrus could tell - lacking the easy smile of Ambassador Doyle.

"Officer Vakarian." She said stoically.

"Commander."

"With the soon influx of Humans on Citadel installations, both the Alliance and the Citadel Council are worried about how Human physical and cultural limitations will impact our integration into the galactic community. Though we doubt xenophobes would be willing to live in the heartland of galactic co-operation and multiculturalism, it is no secret that there is a sizeable anti-alien sentiment within the Alliance that is wrongly directed at the Citadel. Nor the anti-Human sentiment within the Citadel species who are worried that Humans are going to start blowing up planets."

"Other people's planets." The Asari chirped in helpfully, earning a glare from the Executor that could freeze helium. Doyle had the skills to keep her face neutral but Garrus grinned before he stop himself. Thankfully going unnoticed with the Executor staring at the Asari.

Shepard too was grinning in same toothy manner he had often seen with Asari, though Garrus noticed that Humans had a pair of fangs for eating meat, whereas Asari teeth were all blunt. It was the first measure of emotion Garrus had seen on her, it seemed she wasn't as much a VI as he thought. She noticed him looking at her and chastised herself, though she no longer seemed as defiant or cold as before.

"As I was saying, The Systems Alliance have asked for Human liaisons with C-Sec, partially to help mitigate the damage that will come with unfavourable elements clashing against each other, partially to see just how Humans can fit into galactic society."

"Human C-Sec officers." Garrus deadpanned in disbelief. The idea seemed ridiculous. The Human soldiers in the escort were obviously lethal, taut and lean with their sleek ballistic weapons, but for all their lethality with guns and in the void, Humans could not wrangle drunk Krogan females into the back of hovervans.

Doyle ignored Garrus' flagrant dismissal of Human abilities just as Garrus ignored Pallin's glare at Garrus' lack of tact.

"The Council are calling it the 'Integration Programme'. As the 'guardian', you will have the right to suspend and even abort your own and Shepard's parts in the programme at a whim. You will have to report weekly on how Shepard fits within C-Sec both as an individual and as a Human. After a couple of months we will be able to move forwards depending on the collective reports from others in the programme, even assuming the Systems Alliance decides to stay within the Citadel Accord."

It was clear to all that Garrus remained unconvinced. His immediate silence made it obvious that he wanted to say no, but that he simply was trying to put it in as polite a manner as possible, until Pallin made a suggestion.

"Perhaps a demonstration?" He offered.

Garrus looked at him questioningly.

"20 Credits says you can't arrest her."

Garrus disgraced himself in front of the other Turians with the lack of control over his sub-vocals as he let out such a warble that he wasn't sure that the non-Turians didn't hear it. The idea of the Executor putting down a bet - let alone one so ridiculous, was incredulous.

Doyle and her escort seemed to think he had accepted the challenge and positioned themselves back, leaving Shepard out in the open for Garrus. Doyle stood next to Pallin, her face serene and patient, the helmeted ones were obviously speaking to each other on internal comms, about what Garrus could only speculate.

He was suddenly unsure; were Humans venomous? They had those two fangs, but he was so sure that those were for eating meat. As he stepped forwards he was put off by her confidence. She had raised her arms to cover her face and one of her legs were put forwards for balance. Regardless of her stance, Garrus couldn't foresee any formidable way for her to resist him, yet she remained confident. Garrus cautiously approached the mammal as both parties looked on in silent apprehension. He stalked forwards, arms held out low for striking or swiping, trying to adapt his stance to fight a child-sized being. It felt better to think of her as being the size of a small 15'er. 15'ers Regularly trained against fully fledged soldiers all the time.

When he was poised, he swiftly advanced on her with the speed that Turians were famous for and lashed out with his left foot in a viscous kick to her legs. There was the telltale deep rumbling sound and Garrus realised he had made a mistake. His foot connected with hers and felt for all the world like he had just kicked a tank.

He withdrew quickly and held his hands up to signal his unwillingness to go further. Turian tactics with biotics were to surround and swarm, 1 on 1 hand to hand engagements were essentially suicidal.

Shepard also relaxed herself, standing upright and folding her arms to show she was likewise willing to end the demonstration. Doyle nodded her satisfaction and even the Asari looked impressed. With the exception of barriers, biotics were invariably used as an offensive weapon. Upping your own mass to make yourself as solid as possible was an rare ability. The demonstration showed a level of control over her biotics that was staggering.

So, the Human would be covered in a fight at least. If she knew her laws, then he couldn't see a reason that she _couldn't_ do it. Spirits, it would be something to tell his kids. He loved a challenge.

"You said I can change my mind at any time?" Garrus asked Pallin. He nodded in return.

"Alright then." He turned to the diminutive woman in front of him. "I guess we're partners then." He said to Shepard, who smiled once more in the same unsettling toothy grin.

Lynuss was going to explode when she found out.

* * *

 _Good morning viewers, welcome to the Citadel News Network, I'm Nora L'Himo. The Human Systems Alliance embassy will officially open tomorrow on the Citadel despite protests and a universal petition which was submitted to the Council last week demanding that the Human Systems Alliance be barred from the Citadel Council Accord on the grounds of Humans being inherently violent and incomparable with galactic peace. The opening will go ahead under heavy C-Sec protection despite several threats against the embassy and it's staff._

 _The opening will be presided by Councillors Tevos and Sparatus alongside the Alliance's recently elected President Arjun Jain. Councillor Valern will not be attending the opening, sending his adjutant and hopeful successor Marr Esheel in his place, as he is attending his late Dalatrass' funeral and new Dalatrass' coronation on Aegohr. The opening ceremony will be a Human tradition in which a ribbon will be cut simultaneously by both Petty Officer Solana Vakarian and Admiral Steven Hackett, the two namesakes of the Hackett-Vakarian Concords._

 _On related news, Alliance void vessels will be seen throughout Citadel space, either acting with or independently of other Citadel war vessels in routine patrols, anti-piracy, search and rescue and other such operations within Citadel space and on its borders. To help Human voidfarers with the new realities of Citadel space, the Council has announced the formation of the 'Integration Programme', in which individual Humans will be paired up with an experienced local law enforcement officer to help with interactions between Human voidfarers and local laws, customs and populations._

 _The Citadel has released a statement saying that though members of the public are free to interact with the new Human officers as they would any member of law enforcement, that they do as without interfering in their duties._

 _Onto other news-_


End file.
